The latest developments on the coronavirus pandemic for April 21, 2020
NEW YORK - FOX 5 NY is updating this blog with the latest developments on the coronavirus outbreak so you can get the information in one spot.
10:30 PM: China reports 72 new coronavirus infections on the mainland; flareups continue along the northern border.
10:28 PM: California public health officials say some people in "high risk settings" should be tested for the coronavirus even if they don't have symptoms.
9:53 PM: Washington Gov. Jay Inslee says the state won't be able to lift many of the stay-at-home restrictions implemented to fight the coronavirus by May 4.
9:51 PM: New Mexico has more than 2,000 coronavirus cases; at least 65 people have died.
9:39 PM: Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak says he is extending the closure of schools until the end of the school year.
9:28 PM: Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer says President Trump's plan to suspend immigration is distracting from efforts to right the pandemic and is part of his "inconsistent messages" that spread fear.
7:30 PM: New York Life Insurance Co. and Cigna Corp. are setting up a $100 million fund to support the families of health care workers who have died treating COVID-19 patients.
6:30 PM: Gov. Andrew Cuomo says he told President Trump that New York no longer needs the Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort.
6:00 PM: Researchers find that a malaria drug showed no benefit in a large analysis of its use in U.S. veterans hospitals.
5:30 PM: The Senate approves a $483 billion coronavirus aid package; sends bill to the House.
4:34 PM: Gov. Lamont: What has happened at nursing homes across the country is a tragedy; the facilities and the state must be transparent with the families of residents who have died.
4:25 PM: Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont: Several hospitals are doing antibody testing right now; will be able to do more testing with the help of Quest Diagnostics.
4:19 PM: Gov. Murphy: We are reassessing the entirety of the state's testing regime; this will include, at some point, testing a broader segment of the population and not just symptomatic individuals.
4:16 PM: Gov. Murphy says it is too early to know if beaches at the shore will be open; also can't say anything about casinos in Atlantic City.
4:06 PM: Gov. Murphy says he doesn't begrudge people who protest but he'd rather they do so virtually; he says he can't comment on a specific case of a woman who was cited for peacefully protesting; when he said the "Bill of Rights is above" his pay grade, he says he meant he is focused on saving lives right now.
4:00 PM: Gov. Murphy says he isn't surprised that a rating agency downgraded the state's debt.
3:45 PM: Col. Patrick Callahan, NJSP superintendent: Compliance with the executive order is largely good with some exceptions; Newark police issued 18 violations and closed 1 business; 10 people were cited in 3 incidents in Paterson; Dover barbershop was cited for being open; owner of a gym in Lakewood was cited for having a group of kids inside playing sports.
3:38 PM: Commissioner Persichilli: Poison control hotlines around the county report a 20% increase in calls related to exposure to household cleaning products and disinfectants; remember to clean your home safely; use EPA-approved products and follow directions; make sure you have proper ventilation when cleaning; use gloves.
3:35 PM: Commissioner Persichilli: Hospitalizations are basically flat; percentage of patients on ventilators is dropping; more central region hospitals are on "divert" than northern region hospitals; most critical care beds in central NJ are full; 11,527 cases are in long-term care homes.
3:33 PM: New Jersey Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli says the alternate bed sites (field hospitals) are helping relieve the burden on hospitals that are coping with COVID-19 patients.
3:27 PM: Gov. Murphy: The key to reopening the state will be a rigorous testing program: test, trace, and isolate; "We're punching above our weight and working with all partners – including our state’s flagship university, Rutgers, but the federal government must step up in a big way here."
3:20 PM: Gov. Murphy: "We are not going to open our schools back up until we are convinced by scientists and medical professionals that doing so would be safe for students and staff—and their families. I will not rush this." We are a month into the strictest social-distancing efforts and we have to keep going for at least a few more weeks; we have to keep doing what we're doing and limiting the spread of the virus.
3:15 PM: Gov. Murphy pays tribute to a few of the lives lost:
- Darlene Mae Andes was a health educator and risk communicator for the Mercer County Division of Public Health; "She helped craft the health education materials and tools that Mercer County is using currently in its COVID-19 emergency response."
- Darell Johnson worked in the guidance office at Morristown High School and part-time at Morristown Medical Center.
- Carole Wolf was a nurse’s aide at Hospitality House; her 4 sons are Newark firefighters and her daughter is a nurse at Overlook Hospital.
3:13 PM: Gov. Murphy: 7,594 residents currently hospitalized (1,930 patients in either critical or intensive care, 1,501 patients on respirators,72 patients at field medical stations); 630 New Jerseyans discharged.
3:10 PM: Gov. Murphy: 3,643 new confirmed positive cases, pushing statewide total to 92,387; another 379 New Jerseyans have died; death toll is now 4,753.
3:06 PM: Gov. Murphy says he and other officials visited the field medical station in Atlantic City; we predicted the virus moving south.
3:03 PM: New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy holds an update on the state's response to the coronavirus crisis | WATCH LIVE: https://fox5ny.com/live
1:55 PM: Nassau County had previously expected a balanced budget this fiscal year ending on December 31, 2020. In light of the pandemic, the county is now forecasting a shortfall of more than $260 million, out of a total county budget of $3.5 billion.
1:33 PM: Emergency Medical Technician John Redd, 63, was a 26-year veteran of EMS. His death from coronavirus was announced on Tuesday.
1:03 PM: Oil's chaotic collapse deepened, and stocks around the world dropped on Tuesday as the economic carnage caused by the coronavirus pandemic turns markets upside down.
12:39 PM: Current coronavirus cases in Nassau County: 1,999
12:38 PM: Nassau County Exec. Laura Curran: "This will be hard for all of us."
12:37 PM: Nassau County to freeze hiring, look for cost cuts. https://www.fox5ny.com/live
12:00 PM: U.S. health regulators on Tuesday OK'd the first coronavirus test that allows people to collect their own sample at home, a new approach that could help expand testing options in most states.
MORE: https://www.fox5ny.com/news/fda-oks-1st-coronavirus-test-that-allows-self-swab-at-home
11:32 AM: Cuomo ends coronavirus briefing.
11:27 AM: Cuomo asked about regional committees and when they will be opening: We have no committees here. Manhattan is not Buffalo. Let's use that same regional template. Look at the data and tell me where you are. The CDC has guidelines, you have to be descending for two weeks. The 'when' is data driven.
11:22 AM: Cuomo asked about walking fine line with President Trump and meeting with him later: Life is a fine line. You tell the truth. Heck with it. Whatever it is it is. Let's just coordinate who does what.
11:20 AM: Cuomo asked about getting testing for people who are symptomatic in upstate NY: We are doing more testing than any other state. You need more testing in Western NY. Yes. We need more all across the board.
11:19 AM: Cuomo asked what the meeting with President Trump today will be about: Testing. How do we do it? How do we work with the federal government to get this done. From my point of view, the federal government has to take that supply chain issue.
11:16 AM: Cuomo: What did we learn about this period that we're in? You get knocked on your rear end in life. It's going to happen. Do you get up? If you get up, what type of person are you? Sometimes you have nothing to blame. Ok. Get up. Have the strength to have the wisdom and the experience. The Michael Jordan documentary is on TV. I'm a big MJ fan. He didn't make the varsity team. He worked harder. In New York, we make ourselves. This nation, we make ourselves. The greatest tragedies have forged the character of this great nation. We are New York tough. It's hard to smart, discipline, unified and loving, and we are all of the above.
11:13 AM: Cuomo: We will make decisions about reopening in a regional basis. Lt. Gov. Hochul will be in charge of Western New York. Bob Duffy, who worked with me in the state, will be a special advisor on reopening in the Finger Lakes.
11:12 AM: Cuomo: After you do the testing, the states have to put together an army of tracers to trace everyone an infected person has had contact with.
11:08 AM: Cuomo: About test kits. I talk with the labs and they say its a supply issue. I call the supplier and they say it's an international issue. Let the federal government figure out supply issues rather than have 50 states figure out how to buy tests in South Korea like Gov. Larry Hogan did.
11:03 AM: Cuomo: We are going to allow outpatient surgeries in those hospitals in the state that do not have a COVID issue.
11:00 AM: Cuomo: We are we now. There are two rules: do no harm and plan reopening. We are ready to surge and flex to respond to the areas that need it.
10:59 AM: Cuomo: The worst part of my job is to tell you that yesterday we had 125 deaths in Erie County and in the state we lost 481.
10:56 AM: 64 percent of cases are in NYC; 21 percent on Long Island; 8 percent in Westchester and Rockland.
Cuomo: Different regions of the country have curves and different parts of the state have different curves. We have variety across the state of New York. You have to watch each individual curve. Downstate New York, we appear to be on the descent.
10:54 AM: Cuomo: Overall, hospitalizations are flat from yesterday. The net change is down. Change in intubations is down. The number of new people diagnosed with COVID is 1300, that is down.
10:53 AM: Cuomo: Here today are Gather Roads, Jim Malatras, Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, Dr. Candace Johnson from Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, where we are today.
10:52 AM: Gov. Andrew Cuomo updates the public on the coronavirus response in New York. Watch LIVE: https://fox5ny.com/live
10:47 AM: De Blasio: This is New York City ingenuity at its best. It really does inspire me. It's been an amazing effort by so many New Yorkers, that is something one day we will celebrate like never before.
10:46 AM: Bridge ventilator demonstration.
10:40 AM: De Blasio asked if there are better techniques than ventilators: Across the board, health care professionals say we need ventilators.
Dr. Katz: We know it's best to try to avoid intubation. Giving people oxygen, aggressive respiratory therapy, BiPAP, once people need ventilators they don't do very well. But if someone cannot be oxygenated through other methods then should be on a ventilators. In terms of how to explain it, most ventilators work by pushing oxygen through a tube, down into their lungs. The machine is blowing out air that goes directly into the tube. The bridge ventilators is based on a robotic squeeze of an AMBU bag. You squeeze it and it pushes in the oxygen. We;'ve used this for generations. The problem is somebody has to squeeze it a particular rhythm. It would take a real human being. It's robotic AMBU bag prsser the way a human might but with greater scientific precision. Theyv'e added bells and whistles, literally, and it would tell us if the patient was not giving sufficient oxygen.
10:39 AM: De Blasio asked if the fourth of July fireworks will take place: We have not begun those discussions. My team has probably been talking with Macy's. Hard to see it at this point. That one we have some time to sort out. We are going to be look at our indicators to see where we are going.
10:35 AM: De Blasio asked if the bridge ventilators could have been put into use earlier: Dr. Katz: We did not run out of ventilators. Had we run out we would not need FDA approval. Everyone would favor using the ventilator device.
10:32 AM De Blasio asked about immigration policies during the pandemic: I saw a brazen political move by the President. Immigration- he uses it as a campaign weapon all the time.
10:28 AM De Blasio asked about southern states reopening and barring those people from coming into NYC. Also, what you would say to President Trump if you met with him today? If they're wrong about opening up, then that becomes a problem for all of us. If people jump the gun we are going to pay for it. I would say Mr, President, you had to do two things, get the testing and help us with the aide we need to get back on our feet.
10:25 AM: De Blasio asked about state rescinding some of its equipment and if the city is going to cancel any contracts. Also, do you still plan to build all the field hospitals? On the pipes, we are way far from out of the woods. We will need to have a substantial supply. About the field hospitals, some that are not built out may be turned into isolation or quarantine facilities.
10:23 AM: De Blasio asked to place city's stockpile in terms of other stockpiles. We will build what we can build here. And then buy what we have to buy.
10:21 AM: De Blasio asked why schools in NYC haven't allowed a more relaxed grading system: We are focusing on helping our seniors graduate on move on. We are focused on maximizing online learning and get devices into the hands of students who don't have them.
10:16 AM: De Blasio asked about patients being found without oxygen tanks and no food or water, would the city consider outside monitors? As good as our hospitals are and our healthcare workers are, they are overwhelmed.
Dr. Mitch Katz, CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals: In regular times I advise people always go to the hospital with someone who can advocate for you. But these are extraordinary times, we are trying to discourage transmission of the disease. It's been very challenging.
10:14 AM: De Blasio asked how many ventilators will be in the city's reserve and will they be full service ventilators and obstacles receiving death certificates: This purchase of the 3,000 bridge ventilators strengthens our response in the future. It's going to be a combination of what we can produce here and some things we will have to purchase to fill our reserve.
I don't want anyone to wait unless there is a very specific reason for the delay. Whatever the ME needs we will support. I want to see that sped up.
10:11 AM: De Blasio asked what he's told the NYPD to do about the increase of speeding motorists: You've got to recognize in the middle of this crisis we cannot afford another crisis. We've already seen some of that. Slow down, it doesn't matter if there are a lot of cars on the road. The NYPD is short-staffed, has to deal with everything else on top of that having to enforce social distancing and shelter in place. I've definitely said to the commissioner we need aggressive policing of motorists.
10:10 AM: De Blasio takes questions from reporters.
10:08 AM: Engineer Marcel Botha: The bridge ventilator takes the place of the hand.
10:04 AM: Cohen: There were engineers working on this from across the country. This is about the agility of New Yorkers and the newness of people across the country. There was a lot of competitive cooperation from a lot of really smart people.
10:01 AM: De Blasio introduces Scott Cohen of New Lab, who proposed the creation of New York City's own bridge ventilators.
10:00 AM: De Blasio makes remarks in Spanish.
9:57 AM: De Blasio: The day is coming when we will be able to gather again. When that day comes, that we can restart the vibrant life of this city, the first thing we will do is have a ticker-tape parade down the Canyon of Heroes for the healthcare workers and the frontline workers. We will throw the biggest, best parade we can do. I think this will be the greatest of all parades. It will be a chance to say thank you to so many brave and noble people.
https://www.fox5ny.com/news/new-york-city-to-hold-ticker-tape-parade-for-coronavirus-heroes
9:56 AM: De Blasio today is Holocaust Remembrance Day. We should take their struggles, what they've overcome to heart.
9:53 AM: De Blasio: Special thank you to Owens-Minor in North Carolina has supplied us with one million square yards of fabric in the United States that can be turned into surgical gowns which can create 400,000 gowns ready by May 10.
9:52 AM: De Blasio: The daily numbers : admitted to the hospital is 204 from 212; to ICU: 857 from 853. Positive tests: 35 percent from 34 percent. Positive at city health lab: 63 percent from 67 percent. Definite progress for sure. It's working. We can do it.
9:49 AM: De Blasio: We have sites opening now and next week we will open five more sites, all at Health and Hospitals- Brooklyn Gotham East New York; Bronx Morrisania; Staten Island Vanderbilt; Manhattan, Harlem and Queens.
9:45 AM: De Blasio: Today I am announcing that we are creating a NYC Strategic Reserve Program with the leadership of the Empire Economic Development Corporation and health officials, we New Yorkers will take care of ourselves. Face shields, surgical gowns, test kits, bridge ventilators- we can use this as a blueprint to build more of a supply in the future.
9:40 AM: De Blasio: Today I am going to talk to you about ventilators. We are now building bridge ventilators here in NYC. There is no one else in the world can deprive us of this. They are FDA approved. These bridge ventilators can play different kinds of roles, they can keep patients alive if they need more elaborate help from full-service ventilators. They buy time. They help with less severe issues. We placed a $10 million order for 3,000 ventilators. It's a product that is affordable compared to $40K-$50K or more for a full-service ventilator.
9:35 AM: De Blasio: We have to be ready for whatever comes next. New Yorkers are coming together to make things that were never made here before... out of a deep concern for those protecting us. We have seen amazing progress. The face shields being made, the surgical gowns being made. More and more companies are doing remarkable things.
9:33 AM: Mayor Bill de Blasio holds daily coronavirus briefing from City Hall. LIVE: https://fox5ny.com/live
9:03 AM: U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams told Good Day New York that using the CDC's surveillance testing along with antibody testing is the most effective method to track coronavirus as part of reopening plans across the country.
9:01 AM: Lord & Taylor is exploring filing for bankruptcy protection after it was forced to temporarily shut all of its 38 U.S. department stores in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, people familiar with the matter said on Monday.
8:29 AM: Bank officials have reportedly warned that the $450 billion package to replenish the earlier small business emergency fund will likely have a burn rate of $50 billion per day and run out of money in just a few days.
MORE: https://www.fox5ny.com/news/congress-300b-package-for-small-businesses-may-only-last-days-report
8:03 AM: U.S. equity futures are indicating a lower open on Wall Street when trading begins on Tuesday. The major futures markets are pointing to a decline of 1.4 percent.
MORE: https://www.fox5ny.com/news/stock-futures-fall-as-oil-comes-off-lows-following-historic-plunge
7:58 AM: Tips from the NYPD on protecting your business if it is closed during the coronavirus pandemic:
7:00 AM: Watch Good Day New York now at this link: https://fox5ny.com/live
6:15 AM: The latest statistics in a screenshot:
5:12 AM: The San Bernardino County Sheriff is blasting California’s new $0 cash bail emergency mandate after he says he was forced to release a repeat felony child abuse suspect immediately after his arrest, and will have to release hundreds of potentially dangerous criminals back into the public under the new rules.